- Amazon has enough satellites to launch its Starlink competitor
Source: The Verge
“Amazon says it now has enough satellites operating in low-Earth orbit to light up its Starlink internet competitor. With last night’s launch, Amazon Leo has 396 satellites deployed, which is “enough to support continuous service across initial latitudes,” according to Chris Weber, VP heading up business and product for Amazon Leo. That puts the company on track to meet its “mid-2026” target for commercial availability. Just don’t expect miracles on day one. SpaceX went live with its ‘Better than nothing beta’ back in 2020 when it had almost 900 satellites operating in low-Earth orbit.” (07/02/26)
https://www.theverge.com/science/960563/amazon-leo-service-tipping-point
- Report: OpenAI proposes 5% nationalization to bribe Trump
Source: CNBC
“OpenAI has proposed handing the U.S. government a 5% stake in the company, the Financial Times reported Thursday, as the artificial intelligence startup seeks to defuse mounting political pressure in Washington. A 5% holding would be worth roughly $42.6 billion, after the AI lab closed a record-breaking funding round in March at a post-money valuation of $852 billion. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman argued that giving the public a financial interest in the company is the best way to share the upside of AI, the FT reported, citing two people familiar with the talks. Altman suggested a stake of that size in early discussions with the Trump administration, as part of a broader arrangement under which Washington would hold 5% of each of the leading U.S. AI developers via a government vehicle, according to the report.” (07/02/26)
- Breakaway Catholic group excommunicated after defying warnings from Pope Leo
Source: CNN
“The Vatican announced Thursday that priests and members of a breakaway Catholic group that ordained four new bishops in defiance of Pope Leo XIV’s wishes are in schism and excommunicated. The Society of Saint Pius X, an ultra-traditionalist group, went ahead with the ordinations on Wednesday without papal approval and despite appeals from Leo to reverse the decision. In response, the Vatican’s doctrinal office on Thursday published a decree saying that the four bishops are excommunicated, along with the two bishops who participated in the ordination ceremony. Excommunication means they are excluded from the sacraments of the church. It added in an explanatory note that priests belonging to the society and lay members who ‘formally adhere’ to the group are also in schism and excommunicated.” (07/02/26)
- US helicopter goes down in Arabian Sea, crew member missing, Navy says
Source: CBS News
“Three members of a four-person MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter crew were rescued at sea after an ’emergency water landing’ in the Arabian Sea early Wednesday morning, according to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. A search continues for the fourth and final crew member. There is ‘no indication’ the helicopter was shot down by hostile action, the military said. The helicopter is assigned to the USS George H.W. Bush.” (07/01/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-helicopter-goes-down-in-arabian-sea-crew-member-missing-navy-says/
- Greece: Attackers target home of ruling party figures, killing one
Source: The New Arab [UK]
“Attackers targeted the homes of three politicians from Greece’s ruling party with homemade explosives on Wednesday, leaving one person dead and four wounded, police told AFP. The attacks at dawn in the northern city of Thessaloniki targeted figures from the New Democracy party with devices made from gas bottles. … The Kathimerini news website reported that the parents of former party candidate Afroditi Nestora were injured and taken to hospital. It identified the other two targets as the party’s executive committee president Zisis Ioakimovic and former MP Savvas Anastasiades. Nestora’s mother died on Wednesday evening, according to the Thessaloniki hospital where she had been taken for treatment. … Police did not say who might have carried out the attacks or suggest a motive. The anti-terrorist division was investigating. Leftist and anarchist groups often use improvised explosives to target political figures, banks and companies in Greece, causing damage but rarely any casualties.” (07/02/26)
https://www.newarab.com/news/attackers-target-homes-greek-ruling-party-figures-killing-one
- US DOJ Department Sues Virginia, California Reimges Over Victim Disarmament Laws
Source: US News & World Report
“The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against Virginia and state police, accusing them of enacting a law that it said unconstitutionally bans the purchase and sale of ordinary semi-automatic rifles, according to a statement. The department also sued California on Wednesday to halt the state’s newly enacted ‘Glock Ban’, it said in a separate release.” (07/01/26)
- EU top court rejects Google’s appeal against record €4.1 billion bribe demand
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“The EU’s top court upheld Thursday a record €4.1 billion ($4.7 billion) fine the bloc slapped on Google for anti-competitive practices related to its Android operating system. The European Court of Justice dismissed the US tech giant’s second attempt to overturn the penalty imposed by the European Commission in 2018 – which remains the EU’s highest ever antitrust fine. … The commission, the 27-nation bloc’s antitrust regulator, had accused Google of abusing the popularity of its Android operating system to restrict competition.” (07/02/26)
- John Brennan sues to preserve probe records
Source: Axios
“Former CIA Director John Brennan sued the Trump administration Tuesday, seeking a court order requiring officials to preserve records related to investigations into him. If Brennan is later charged, preserved records could be central to any claim that the prosecution amounted to unconstitutional political retaliation. Brennan contends the investigation is part of Trump’s broader push to punish political adversaries — especially critics like Brennan, who has publicly clashed with Trump for years.” (07/01/26)
- Germany: Prosecutors charge Ukrainian suspect over Nord Stream explosions
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“German federal prosecutors have filed charges against a 50-year-old Ukrainian national over a series of explosions that destroyed two Nord Stream underwater gas pipelines linking Russia to Europe in 2022. The federal prosecutor’s office declined to comment on the specifics of the indictment on Wednesday against the accused, who is identified only as Serhii K in court documents under German privacy rules. Serhii K is accused of attacking civilian energy infrastructure, causing an explosion, and destroying structures, according to the German public broadcaster ARD. The underwater explosions damaged both the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines so severely that no gas could be transported through them, knocking out the key routes for Russian gas to Europe for months after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.” (07/02/26)
- AL: No charges expected after homeowner shoots intruder
Source: WAAY 31 News
“Huntsville Police are investigating an early morning shooting on Salem Drive that they believe was an act of self-defense. Officers responded to a home on the 200 block of Salem Drive around 3 a.m. Wednesday, after getting a report of a shooting. When they arrived, they say they found a man with gunshot wounds who was taken to a local hospital, where he remains in critical condition. Detectives with the Violent Crimes Unit believe the injured man broke into the home while carrying a gun. Police say he then threatened the people inside before one of them shot him in self-defense.” (07/01/26)
- How Trumpism Betrays the Declaration of Independence
Source: The Bulwark
by Laura K Field“Cherry-picking Lincoln, the MAGA New Right tries to rewrite—or discard altogether—the promise of human equality.” (07/02/26)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/how-trumpism-betrays-the-declaration-of-independence
- The Supreme Court failed the test posed by Trump
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Jackie Calmes“Even when the Supreme Court disfavored Trump, it showed its ideological and incoherent colors. Though it allowed him to fire independent agency officials without cause, it made an exception for the Federal Reserve in a separate case. Upsetting consumers is OK apparently, but not Wall Street. And the court should have settled the birthright citizenship case against Trump long ago, as many lower-court judges sought to do. His first-day executive order repealing birthright citizenship plainly violated the Constitution, federal law and court precedent — and yet the justices strung out the case and only this week decided on the constitutionality of birthright citizenship by just a 5-4 vote. A counterreaction to Trump and the Supreme Court is coming, I believe. By laws and lawsuits, Congress must begin taking back its constitutional powers over spending, war-making, appointments and more.” (07/02/26)
- The War in Ukraine Arrives at a Crucial Juncture
Source: Antiwar.com
by James Carden“Though relegated to the sidelines thanks to President Donald Trump’s decision to launch an illegal and unjustified war on Iran at the behest of the Israeli warfare state, the war in Ukraine grows more dangerous with each passing day. In fact, recent reports indicate a perilous increase in attacks on energy and civilian infrastructure from both Moscow and Kiev.” (07/02/26)
- The death of the American Dream is highly exaggerated
Source: Washington Post
by Gonzalo Schwarz“As America turns 250 years old, many people say the American Dream is at risk. Last month, an Associated Press-NORC poll found that only one-third of Americans believe the American Dream still exists. A CNBC poll the same month found that a majority of people consider the American Dream out of reach. But most public polling captures what people believe about the accessibility of the American Dream for others. In their own life, they are far more optimistic.” (07/02/26)
- 1776 and All That: Thomas Jefferson on Adam Smith
Source: EconLog
by Hans Eicholz“Yes, Thomas Jefferson had read Smith, but before 1776, he could only have read The Theory of Moral Sentiments, and he read it for much the same reason he read all the other Scottish theorists of his day: Because each, in his own way, had illuminated reasons for confidence in the ability of individuals to exercise personal and political self-government. In other words, each had argued that by either convention (e.g. Hume) or nature (e.g. Kames), human beings were apt to use their individual liberty in ways that promoted a prosperous and orderly society, uncoerced by princes or prelates.” (07/02/26)
- America does not know its own mind
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Charles A Kupchan“Internationalists are once more doing battle with America Firsters, cleaving the body politic between two incompatible approaches to global affairs.” (07/02/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/america-first-foreign-policy/
- Why People Say the Economy is Bad: Fees and Insurance
Source: CounterPunch
by Dean Baker“People’s negative assessments of the economy continue to be somewhat of a mystery. The recent run-up in gas prices and inflation more generally is unambiguously bad news, but is this the worst economy ever, as some of the consumer confidence measures have been showing recently? Real income for those at the middle and bottom has generally been rising by standard measures, so it seems that we’re missing something, and I’m not sure any of us have figured out what. My friend, Jared Bernstein, argues that a big part of the story is that consumers are unhappy not just because of inflation, but because prices are high. Implicitly, they expect them to come down and are unhappy that they don’t.” (07/02/26)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/07/02/why-people-say-the-economy-is-bad-fees-and-insurance/
- The Cold War Origins of Taiwan’s Silicon Shield
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Joseph Solis-Mullen“Today, Taiwan occupies a uniquely important position in the global economy. The island produces the overwhelming majority of the world’s most advanced semiconductors, manufacturing the chips that power everything from smartphones and artificial intelligence systems to automobiles, satellites, and advanced weapons platforms. Taiwan has become so central to the modern technological order that analysts since the 1990s have routinely described its semiconductor industry as a ‘silicon shield,’ a strategic asset so important that no major power can afford to see it disrupted. As the debate continues over whether to de-risk or re-shore American semi-conductor supply chains, how we arrived at this point can be instructive.” (07/02/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/the-cold-war-origins-of-taiwans-silicon-shield
- Hamilton’s Economic Vision Had One Crucial Blind Spot
Source: The Daily Economy
by Donald J Boudreaux“Hamilton recognized the importance of manufacturing but overlooked the market processes that create lasting prosperity.” (07/02/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/hamiltons-economic-vision-had-one-crucial-blind-spot/
- America’s Hard Left and Right Have Had It With Israel
Source: The American Conservative
by Jack Hunter“Rather than debate their critics on the merits, many in the establishments of both parties have sought to dismiss any criticism of Israel as antisemitism, pure and simple. As Sen. Ted Cruz said last month during a diatribe against the popular commentator (and noted Israel skeptic) Tucker Carlson, ‘We are seeing a cancer on the right. It is rising antisemitism …. Here’s the scary thing: I’ve seen more antisemitism on the right over the last 18 months than any time in my life.’ … Leaving aside the histrionics, the Senator from Texas is right about one thing—both the hard right and the hard left have ended up in a similar place on Israel. And for similar reasons: opposition to American vassalage, disgust with the treatment of Palestinians, skepticism of the endless regional wars, and a conviction that our resources are better spent at home.” (07/02/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/americas-hard-left-and-right-have-had-it-with-israel/
- Can reliable international comparisons of human flourishing be made using subjective survey data?
Source: Freedom and Flourishing
by Winton Bates“The idea that human flourishing is the proper measure of a good society goes back to Aristotle, but modern attempts to compare flourishing internationally using subjective survey data raise difficult questions. That is illustrated in the scatter chart shown above – which compares the degree of human flourishing in different countries as measured by the new Global Flourishing Study (GFS) with average life evaluation data for those countries using the methodology of the World Happiness Report (WHR).” (07/01/26)
https://www.freedomandflourishing.com/2026/07/can-reliable-international-comparisons.html
- More Noise than Signal from Latest Chiefs Release
Source: Show-Me Institute
by Patrick Tuohey“The Kansas City Chiefs just released a two-page statement with numerous claims about the benefits of a new stadium, practice facility, and team headquarters in Kansas. There are reasons to be skeptical. First, the press release includes some findings from an economic impact analysis that was conducted by a consultant the team hired. We don’t have the full report itself—just these selected highlights the Chiefs chose to share.” (07/01/26)
- The War on Reconstruction
Source: Liberal Currents
by Patrick J Sobkowski“The Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling on birthright citizenship is just one battle in the right’s larger war on the Second Founding.” (07/01/26)
- The Supreme Court Isn’t Trump’s Lackey
Source: Persuasion
by Charles Lane“President Trump has a lot of obsessions. If you had to name the ones he cares about the most, the list would probably include imposing tariffs on imports, getting the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates (even if it means ousting board members who disagree), abolishing mail-in voting, ending birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants, and—last but not least—fighting personal lawsuits brought against him since his first administration. And yet on every one of these fixations, the Supreme Court in its just-completed term dealt Trump a defeat.” (07/01/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/the-supreme-court-just-affirmed-its
- Oh, Canada – how sad
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton“Canada Day is the Dominion’s national day and a statuatory federal holiday. It celebrates, not freedom from rule by the British Crown, but the anniversary of the Confederation of Canada. (On 1 July, 1867), merging the ‘United Canadas’ (Ontario and Quebec), Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. The Confederation remained within the British Empire. Until 1982, when Canada got its own Constitution (by the Canada Act) and severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the UK Parliament in London, it was called Dominion Day. Although it is often informally referred to as ‘Canada’s birthday’ (parroting US ideas of Independence Day), it is not: Instead of an eight-year war and a peace treaty, it took a long time to reach the country’s full sovereignty.” (07/01/26)
- The decline of the impeachment voter, and other midterm lessons so far
Source: Semafor
by David Weigel“Primary season is more than halfway over, after 31 states and the District of Columbia picked their nominees. There’s a three-week pause before intra-party contests start again with Arizona. That means it’s a good time to take stock of what’s happening.” (07/01/26)
- In Defense of Taking Down Rules in the House
Source: Exiled Policy
by Jason Pye“For the second week in a row—and for the fifth time since the beginning of the 119th Congress—a faction of House Republicans voted down a rule on the House floor. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was once again forced to send Congress home. It’s an embarrassing situation for Johnson. Worse, it’s coming during an election year, as Republicans try to hold on to their already slim majority. You’ve got to remember that the House suspends the rules to pass most legislation.” (07/01/26)
https://exiledpolicy.substack.com/p/in-defense-of-taking-down-rules-in
- Liberal Societies Need Grand Stories About Themselves
Source: The UnPopulist
by Jonathan Rauch“Pre-liberal faiths, such as tribalism and Christianity, provided meaningful stories—sometimes for better, though often for worse. In the recent past, liberalism, too, had a story: of a grand human endeavor of progress, equality, and liberation. Yet today, the author says, mass consumerism, fragmented media, tech-driven sociopathy, and cultural nihilism have taken a wrecking ball to meaning. In its own way, careerism has been just as bad; what Avent calls the Modern Faith ‘has no guidance for people in our situation’ beyond urging that we ‘achieve professional success, make money, job done.’ If any of this sounds familiar, that might be because the charge that individualism, industrialization, and consumerization lead to anomie and nihilism has roots that go back to Plato among the ancients and Rousseau and Marx among the moderns.” (07/01/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/liberal-societies-need-grand-stories
- The Academy’s Captured Gatekeepers
Source: Liberalism.org
by Siri Terjesen“How a voluntary, bottom-up answer to an information problem became a federally enforced cartel, and why prying it loose is a cause every liberal should own.” (07/01/26)
https://www.liberalism.org/p/the-academy-s-captured-gatekeepers
- Unpacking the Court
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob“We need a constitutional amendment to set the number of justices. Leaving to Congress the option of remaking the Court every time partisan control changes in Washington is … corrupting.” (07/01/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/07/01/unpacking-the-court/
- Underthrow Podcast, 07/02/26
Source: Underthrow
“Why Every Empire Dies After 250 Years. Is America Next?” (07/02/26)
- Show-Me Institute Podcast, 07/02/26
- The Headlines, 07/02/26
Source: New York Times
“A Quiet Surge in ICE Arrests, and Trump’s First Flight on Plane Given by Qatar.” (07/02/26)
- The Fifth Column, episode 564
Source: The Fifth Column
“The Revolution Will Be Staffed by PhDs (w/co-host Peter Miejer).” (07/02/26)
https://www.wethefifth.com/p/the-revolution-will-be-staffed-by
- Politico Playbook Audio Briefing, 07/02/26
- Declare Your Independence with Ernest Hancock, 07/02/26
Source: Freedom’s Phoenix
“Aaron Day (ZANO; Daylight Freedom; Brownstone Institute) comes on the show to discuss his campaign (blocking ballots), and the economy (ditch the dollar).” (07/02/26)
- The Kyle Anzalone Show, 07/01/26
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Larry Johnson: Trump’s Strait of Hormuz Nightmare.” (07/01/26)
- Kibbe on Liberty, episode 393
Source: Free the People
“We’ve Turned Our Backs on the Vaccine-Injured | Guest: Sen. Ron Johnson.” (07/01/26)
- The Tom Woods Show, episode 2774
Source: The Tom Woods Show
“The Vance/Israel Spat, and Where Trump’s Head Is.” (07/01/26)
https://tomwoods.com/ep-2774-the-vance-israel-spat-and-where-trumps-head-is/
- NPR Politics Podcast, 07/01/26
Source: National Public Radio [US state media]
“Gen Z democratic socialist ousts 30-year incumbent in Colorado.” (07/01/26)
- Year Zero with Tommy Salmons, 07/01/26
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Rules for Radicals: The Genesis of Tactic Proxy w/John Weeks.” (07/01/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/blog/rules-for-radicals-the-genesis-of-tactic-proxy-w-john-weeks/
- Half the Answer, episode 91
Source: Liberal Currents
“Why won’t Gregory Bovino stay gone? Why can’t Trump keep his pool clean? And how many fireworks is too many fireworks? We asked our friend and yours Amanda Moore to help us get to the bottom of these questions and more.” (07/01/26)
- LPALive, episode 76
Source: LP Alliance
“Ya Got Trouble 2: Florida Edition.” (07/01/26)
- The Chris Hedges Report, 07/01/26
Source: The Chris Hedges Report
“Weaponizing Civil Death to Crush Dissidents (w/ Hüseyin Doğru).” (07/01/26)
https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/weaponizing-civil-death-to-crush
- Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 07/01/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Israeli Minister Vows 100% Control of Gaza, Trump Considers Return to Full-Scale Iran War, and More.” (07/01/26)